Portuguese Bean Soup with Smoked Ham Hock & Linguica

Portuguese Bean Soup with Smoked Ham Hock & Linguica

This post was sponsored by S&W Beans and all opinions expressed in my post are my own.

Satisfy a hungry family with this Portuguese Bean Soup with Smoked Ham Hock & Linguica.

Boy, does this Portuguese Bean Soup bring back memories of family dinners in Hawaii! This soup was one of my dad’s favorites things to eat, so growing up, it was something I ate quite often. It’s a hearty soup that hits the spot after a long day at school or work. Yet, I’ve only recently started to make this for my family. Crazy, right?!

Now, I have to give credit to mom. The base of this Portuguese bean soup is her recipe and there are only a few changes I made to the recipe to suit my family’s taste.

The first change, I made was to use a smoked ham hock instead of uncooked ham hock and add more tomato flavor to the stock.

Another change was to increase the amount of potatoes from 1/2 cup to 4 cups! My kids LOVE potatoes and anything less would result in a riot…no joke.

Finally, the last change was to add more beans! After all, it is called Portuguese BEAN soup. I kept the traditional kidney beans. But instead of dried beans that must be soaked for several hours, I chose the convenience of canned S&W Beans. S&W Beans won’t fall apart and always taste great. It’s probably because S&W Beans has the highest standards in the industry and have been doing beans right for over 120 years! Now, grab this S&W Beans coupon for some savings and let’s get to the soup making!

Portuguese Bean Soup with Smoked Ham Hock and Linguica

Originally, this soup was brought to Hawaii by the Portuguese immigrants that came to work on the plantations. I can’t say how authentic it is to the original recipe because most island recipes end up being a blend of multiple cultures. But who cares? It’s delicious! My teens finished off the entire pot in a little over 24 hours! I made this soup on Sunday morning and it was gone by Monday afternoon!

One note before starting this recipe. I don’t like soggy macaroni, so I do not add macaroni into the soup. Instead, I cook the macaroni in a separate pot of salted water and add it to the bowl when served.

Portuguese Bean Soup Stock

Add the smoked ham hocks into a large pot (10 quart is ideal) and cover with water.

Add in the herbs and vegetables. Turn the heat on to medium high.

Bring to a boil. Lower the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 2 1/2 – 3 hours.

While the stock is cooking, prep all the vegetables and linguica sausage for later.

Remove ham hocks and vegetables. Discard the vegetables and remove the meat from the ham hocks. Rough chop and set aside for later.

Skim out the remaining the items in the soup. There should be about 8 – 9 cups of stock in the pot. If not, add a bit more water.

Portuguese Bean Soup Add-ins

Now, add the S&W Kidney Beans (I used the low sodium) and S&W White Beans. I like the contrast between the firm kidney beans and creamy white beans. However, feel free to substitute with one of the other many varieties of S&W Beans.

The last step, add in the cabbage and the smoked ham hocks. Cover and cook for an additional 10 minutes or until the potatoes are tender and the cabbage is soft with just a slight crunch. Taste and adjust the salt/pepper to taste.

To serve, add macaroni to the bottom of the bowl (add rice too if you’re from Hawaii) and top with big scoops of the Portuguese Bean Soup with Smoked Ham Hocks and Linguica.

Now, open up and eat!

I hope you try this hearty Portuguese Bean Soup with Smoked Ham Hock and Linguica. My kids have already put their request in for more.

Portuguese Bean Soup with Ham Hocks and Linguica

A tasty comfort food that is hearty and perfect for the fall and winter seasons.

Ingredients

Soup stock

2 1/2- 3lb smoked ham hocks

10 cups water (add enough to cover the smoked ham hocks)

2 bay leaves

1 bunch cilantro

3-4 stalks celery (inner stalks work fine)

1/4 teaspoon pepper corns

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

2 - 8 oz. cans tomato sauce

Soup add-ins

1 Medium sliced onions

1 - 14.5oz. can diced tomatoes

1 1/2 cup chopped carrots (1/2 inch cut)

4 cups cut Klondike red potatoes (1 - 11/2 inch cubes)

1lb mild linguica (use hot for a spicy soup)

1 - 15 oz. can S&W Kidney Beans

1 - 15 oz. can S&W White Beans

1/2 head cabbage (thick chopped)

teaspoon salt/pepper to taste

2 1/2 - 3 cups macaroni

Soup add-ins
(Optional)

1 - 6 oz. can tomato paste

1 - 2 teaspoon granulated beef bouillon

Directions

Soup stock

Step 1

Add the smoked ham hocks into a large pot (10 quart is ideal) and cover with water. Add in remaining soup stock ingredients and bring to boil over medium high heat. Cover and reduce the heat to low. Simmer for 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Add more water as water evaporates to keep hocks covered. While the stock is cooking, prep the vegetables and linguica sausage.

Step 2

Remove ham hocks and celery/cilantro. Discard the celery/cilantro and remove the meat from the ham hocks. Rough chop and set aside for later. Skim out the peppercorns, bay leaves, and oil at the top of the soup. There should be at least 9 -10 cups of stock. If not, add water.

Soup add-ins

Step 3

Add in onions, crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste (leave out if you prefer less tomato flavor), and granulated beef bouillon. Cover and simmer for 30-minutes.

Add in the beans, smoked ham hocks, and cabbage. Cover and cook for an additional 10 -15 minutes or until the cabbage and potatoes are cooked.

Step 5

In a separate pot, cook macaroni according to package directions. Set aside to add into soup bowls later. This allows each individual to add as much or little macaroni to their bowls and prevents the macaroni from getting soggy.

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Comments

We have a ham bone leftover from Thanksgiving that we are using to make this soup. We are confused by the directions. Step one says to add in remaining stock ingredients, which includes onions and tomatoes. However step 3 says to strain and discard vegetables. Then it says to add onions and tomatoes. My husband thinks we should add the strained onions and tomatoes back in to the stock in step 3, if so, why strain the stock at all? I think the instruction should have included onions in the stock ingredients and chopped onion and the tomatoes in Soup add-ins.

In addition, step 5 says to cook the macaroni and reserve for later, but never says what to do with it. I realize that you explain in the blog above to put some in each bowl when serving the soup, but that doesn’t show when you print the recipe. The stock is simmering as I write this, so I’m not sure how it will turn out. But I’m guessing that two cans of beans won’t be enough.

I don’t understand why people post comments before they try the recipe.

Hi Carol, I’m so sorry I didn’t see this earlier. I apologize that the directions were confusing. I do see the errors and thank you for pointing that out, I have corrected them. I discard the celery and cilantro from the initial soup stock because they become extremely soft, but feel free to keep them in the soup if you like. I skim the soup base because most people don’t want to bite into peppercorns and bay leaves, so I take those out. The diced tomato soup and onions should be added in after the soup has been skimmed as these will flavor the soup more and I do keep the onions. Two cans of beans are just right for this soups as it has a lot of other vegetables and meat in it. Of course, you can always add more.

Yuummmy! Now that the autumn has arrived to Switzerland this soup with S&W beans would be perfect for a weekend! I will do a lot so we could eat it all weekend! I would problably add some chilis in my bowl as I love it spicy!

I remember my grandma made the tastiest bean soup ever and she let the beans simmer for hours. I love your recipe as it is much quicker and I still get the homemade flavor but a bit more quickly to the dinner table.

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